04 August 2014

Spice Things Up

I was cleaning the spice cupboard on Friday, after doing the shopping. I'd picked up some herbs and spices to top up the jars and before I put them away I gave the cupboard a quick wipe out and replaced the bay leaves (bay leaves repel weevils, but they do need to be changed often).

Tom wandered in and commented on the number of jars and it had me thinking. Before I learned to cook I had basic herbs and spices in the house. Mixed herbs, cinnamon, mixed spice, garlic salt (I can't believe I used it!), ginger powder and curry powder.

Once I started cooking from scratch I realised that was a pretty meagre spice cabinet and started to buy different spices and herbs as a recipe called for them.

That's quite an improvement in my cooking skills right there in the spice cupboard. They all get used regularly, definitely before they go stale (herbs and spices have a shelf life of around 6 months once opened, then they start to lose their potency).

Having such a choice of seasonings meant I have had to learn what flavours go best with different foods, that was a learning curve once I started to adjust recipes to suit my grocery budget.

If you've become a little boring and rely on salt, pepper and garlic to season your meals be daring and spice things up with a new seasoning. You probably have some of the common herbs already in your spice cabinet.

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If this is your first visit, welcome! If you're a regular visitor, welcome back.

This is my record of the daily challenges the Armstrong family faces as we live life the Cheapskates way - debt free, cashed up and laughing - and try to stay that way.

Here I talk about the little things I do that save us a lot of money and the bigger things that may only save a small amount. I share the things that work for us and the things that don't. I say it as I see it, so if I try something and think it's a dud, I'll tell you. And if I try something and it works, I'll share it with you.

You'll get an insight into a very frugal family living a very comfortable 21st Century lifestyle and I hope it encourages and inspires you as you make your journey to living life the Cheapskates way.